Jack Kittle Named Great Lakes Region Outdoor Athlete of the Year
| 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Regional Awards |
SPRINGFIELD, OH — A phenomenal 2025-26 season has brought numerous postseason awards to Wittenberg Men's Track & Field sprinter Jack Kittle (Chagrin Falls, OH / Chagrin Falls). The latest is a big one as Kittle has been selected the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the organization announced on Thursday, May 28.
Kittle's award caps an amazing year of regional honors for Wittenberg Track & Field. A total of 14 athletes earned All-Great Lakes Region awards in the indoor season, culminating in NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honors for Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH / Springfield) and NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Men's Indoor Coach of the Year honors for Head Coach Paris Hilliard. A total of 15 athletes earned All-Great Lakes Region awards for the outdoor season, in addition to Kittle's special recognition.
The top regional award is a first in Kittle's two-year intercollegiate career, and he becomes the first Wittenberg student-athlete to garner the accolade. Victor Banjo earned NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2014, and Elliott became the second to earn the indoor award earlier this year.
Kittle was the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Newcomer and Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Year at both the Indoor and Outdoor Championship meets in 2025, and he qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in both the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. Kittle capped his amazing freshman year with first-team All-America honors after placing fifth in the 400 and second-team All-America honors after placing 15th in the 200.
He continued to excel in his sophomore campaign, earning three All-NCAC awards at the 2026 Indoor Championships with a second-place finish in the 400 and a second-place finish in the 200, in addition to the winning 4x400-meter relay. He then earned second-team All-America honors after finishing 12th in the 400-meter dash at the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships.
That set the stage for a tremendous performance at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. He ran three races in less than three hours on the final day - setting a school record with a third-place finish in the 400 in a time of 46.15, finishing seventh in the 200, and then anchoring Wittenberg's 4x400-meter relay to an eighth-place finish. He was joined on the relay - the first in school history to earn All-America honors, by Elliott, Owen Bier (Elyria, OH / Midview) and Kory Davis (Brookville, OH / Brookville).
"It's really exciting to learn that Jack earned regional athlete of the year," Hilliard said. "He truly deserves this award. He has worked extremely hard this season, and his performances reflect that."
The 2025-26 season was a truly outstanding for Wittenberg Men's Track & Field as the Tigers won the NCAC Indoor Championships and finished second in the NCAC Outdoor Championships. Elliott and Davis both recorded top-eight finishes in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in March to earn first-team All-America awards and score a total of nine points for the team, which was good for 18th place. At the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in May, Kittle scored points individually in the 400 and the 200, and as a member of the 4x400 relay to power the Tigers to 23rd place as a team with nine points.
Written By: Ryan Maurer